Syracuse ANG

My first memories of fighter jets are thanks to the Air National Guard 174th fighter wing (known as The Boys From Syracuse), based out of Hancock Field in Syracuse, NY, flying over my hometown on Memorial Day during the parades. It was always stunningly awesome as all of a sudden you'd hear a fast crescendo of deafening jet engines roar overhead, and you'd see several A-10's in formation fly over head. The 174th went from A-10s to F-16s in March 1989, and they've been a regular sight in the sky over central NY ever since, until recently.

The powers that be decided that the 174th was going to now fly MQ-9 Reapers, and the days of flying manned aircraft would be over with the departure of the F-16s. On March 6, 2010, the last two F-16s departed Syracuse. I was working 375 miles away on that Saturday, and unfortunately wasn't able to witness the historic event.

In honor of the men and women of the 174th, and in memory of manned fighter jets out of Syracuse, I've added an A-10 and F-16 to my collection of EDFs.

I began the hobby of RC planes in the spring of 2009 and the sickness spread rapidly. I've learned a lot and have improved my skills to the point where I custom painted a Starmax (BlitzRCworks) A-10 into the 174th colors. As luck would have it, Freewing produced the F-16, stock in the Syracuse scheme. These two jets are a special part of my collection and evoke a lot of memories and meaning each time I fly them.